Barca meet Valencia again in Cup semi-finals

(Reuters) - Barcelona were given a testing tie against Valencia in Friday’s draw for the semi-finals of the King’s Cup while Leganes were handed a marginally more comfortable tie against Sevilla after dumping Real Madrid out of the competition.

Barcelona hammered a hapless Valencia side then coached by Gary Neville 7-0 in a 2016 semi-final first leg, easing into the final 8-1 on aggregate, but the six-times Liga champions have been revitalised by coach Marcelino this season and should pose more difficulties for the Catalans than last time around.

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Runaway Liga leaders Barca reached the last four of the competition for the eighth year in a row by beating local rivals Espanyol 2-0 on Thursday, while Valencia, who are third in the standings, sneaked into the last four by overcoming Deportivo Alaves in a penalty shoot-out on Wednesday.

Barca have won the last three editions of the Cup and reached the last four finals, while Valencia have not made it to a final since winning the tournament in 2008.

Leganes reached the semi-finals for the first time in their history by staging a second leg turnaround against crisis-hit Real, beating Zinedine Zidane’s stumbling side 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu to advance on away goals.

Barca host Valencia in the first leg of the tie on either Jan. 31 or Feb. 1 with the second leg coming on Feb. 8 or 9, while Leganes will play the first leg against Sevilla at home.